The Office for National Statistics in Britain released data on Thursday morning regarding the growth of the UK’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during the last quarter of the previous year, which was positive and exceeded market expectations.
The data showed that the UK economy recorded a year-on-year growth in real GDP of 1.4% in the fourth quarter of 2024, while markets had anticipated a growth of 1.1%. The previous reading had recorded a growth of 1.0% in the third quarter.
On a quarterly basis, British GDP grew by 0.1% in the last quarter of the previous year compared to the previous quarter, which was contrary to market expectations that indicated a contraction of 0.1%, after the GDP remained unchanged in the third quarter.
At the same time, the UK economy saw a growth of 0.4% in GDP during December, while markets had anticipated a growth of 0.1% for the country’s GDP. The previous reading had recorded a growth of 0.1% in November.
It is worth mentioning that this indicator measures the change in the inflation-adjusted value of all goods and services produced by the UK economy, and this indicator is very important as it is considered the broadest measure of economic activity and the primary gauge of economic health.
However, this higher-than-expected growth coincided with a contraction in manufacturing output in the UK by 1.4% year-on-year by the end of December, although this was better than market expectations that anticipated a contraction of about 1.9%. Manufacturing output in the UK had contracted by 1.1% in November.
